Elections Have Consequences: A Look at Poland
The 2015 ascendancy of the Law and Justice Party to power in Poland, first winning the Presidency and then 51% of the Parliament, has resulted in changes of direction in a country that was the poster child for economic and democratic transition as it emerged from the communist period. Current policies toward state security, public media, economic policy and the courts have generated praise in some quarters and strong criticism in others. What is the meaning of these changes for Poland's future, for the group of Central/Eastern countries and for the EU, where Poland has aspired to leadership?
Panel 1 12:00pm-1:00pm
- Leszek Balcerowicz, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, Warsaw School of Economics. Keynote address: "Bad Transitions Include Poland"
- Moderator: Dr. Heidi Tworek, Fellow, Transatlantic Academy and Assistant Professor of International History, University of British Columbia
Panel 2 1:00pm-2:00pm
- Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Sławomir Sierakowski, Krytyka Polityczna
- Moderator: Ruth Greenspan Bell, Wilson Center
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Global Europe Program
The Global Europe Program is focused on Europe’s capabilities, and how it engages on critical global issues. We investigate European approaches to critical global issues. We examine Europe’s relations with Russia and Eurasia, China and the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Our initiatives include “Ukraine in Europe”—an examination of what it will take to make Ukraine’s European future a reality. But we also examine the role of NATO, the European Union and the OSCE, Europe’s energy security, transatlantic trade disputes, and challenges to democracy. The Global Europe Program’s staff, scholars-in-residence, and Global Fellows participate in seminars, policy study groups, and international conferences to provide analytical recommendations to policy makers and the media. Read more
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